Your call to storytelling

Growing up in a large Irish family, I heard the call from a young age to share my talents. My earliest signature song became, “I’m a Little Teapot.” Eventually I realized it was truly my story. When I get “all steamed up,” I need a good listener to “pour me out.”  

At 9, I was asked by the parish organist, suffering from laryngitis, to sing at morning Mass. It literally woke me up to faith. At 11, my dad and I developed a duet from “Gigi.” Dad imitated Maurice Chevalier. I became the disdainful Her­mione Gingold correcting his faulty memory, only to admit I still saw him as a prince of love. Two years later, my dad died in a car crash. A high school drama coach casually asked if I’d like to enter a recitation contest. I chose “Patterns” by Amy Lowell because its heroine had lost her love in a “pattern” called war. I didn’t realize that through my choice I was grieving for my father.

Decades later as a teacher, I discovered storytelling as a powerful learning tool for my students and myself. We reveal ourselves through folktales, myths, poems and fiction, rarely realizing it. Today I invite children and adults to enter both tales and memories as stories. We practice by listening deeply to one another, then we appreciate what touched us as listeners.

On four Thursdays — Oct. 3, 10, 17, and 24, from 6:30-8:30 p.m. — I am offering a class at the Pastoral Center in Albany. 

Our theme is “Storying God’s Call.” Briefly we discuss Bible “Call Stories” and consider the nudges from God, dreams, family, friends, teachers and nature. Our lives are rich in such calls; then we “tell” to each other, one to one.

Register by calling 518-489-4431. Pre-payment of $50 or $15 per class should be mailed or delivered before Oct. 3 to 790 Lancaster St. Albany, N.Y., 12203. Any questions, contact [email protected]